Reclining chair



Dec. 15, 1959 N. DE VRIES ETAL RECLINING CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. .26 1955 m w z Dec. 15,1959 N. DE vRlEs ETAL 2,917,105

' v RECLINING CHAIR Filed Jan. 26, 1955 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS 2,917,105 RECLINING CHAIR Nicholas de Vries, Brookfield, cm, and Er'nest F. Becher, East Aurora, N.Y.

Application January 26, 1955, Srial No. 484,168

1 Claim. m ss-106 This invention relatesJto a reclining chair and more particularly to such a chair adapted for use conventionally as a normal upholstered upright lounge chair but which has movable back, seat and leg rest parts connected to one another and to the base-of the chair by substantially identical linkages at opposite sides of the chair and which linkages serve to maintain'these movable parts in proper relation to one another to provide the maximum comfort at any selected degree of reclining of these'parts.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide such a reclining chair which is of attractive appearance and can be made to follow closely the desirable form and appearance of well designed non-reclining chairs, particularly in being supported by relatively high legs so as to provide a relatively high open space beneath the chair and thereby avoid a base of massive appearance. This object is attained principally by locating certain parts of the linkages in the arms or side frames of the base instead of under the base, in which latter case the base sides are generally required to be brought down close to the floor in order to conceal the linkage under the base.

Another object is to provide such a reclining'chair which does not have any loose lengths of cloth between the back and the base which some reclining chairs have for concealment purposes. Such pieces of cloth have a highly undesirable droopy appearance.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a reclining chair in which the linkage causes each movable chair part to track the other chair parts in such manner that in any degree of recline' of these parts theyare jointly in position to support the user with the maximum degree of comfort. Q I

Another object is to provide such a reclining chair which is smooth and 'trouble-freein its action and in particular operates without peaks of resistance, noise or any uncertainties in action.

Another object is to provide such a reclining chair which, particularly when extended, is sturdy and free from wobbliness. I i I I 'Another object is to provide such a reclining chair in which opposing leverages rather than friction are employed to control the movement of the movable chair parts. Where friction is relied on the chair in time wears into an undesirable looseness.

Another object is to provide such a reclining chair in which the movable parts fold and unfold without any tendency to pull or crumple the clothing of the user, such as the tendency of some reclining chairs to pull out the shirt of the user.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a reclining chair em bodying the present invention and showing the same in an upright or non-reclining position. t

Fig. 2 is a vertical fore-and-aft section taken generallyon line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing the chair in' its fully erect or non-reclining position.

. United St Pat fi e .7

Fig. 3 is aview similar to in its full reclining position. 7 I

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken generally along line 4 4, Fig. 3. r

In the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings the'numeral 5 represents the base of the chair and which arms provided by a'pair of side frames'6 each including upright bars 8, 9 and 10 which can be projected to'form.

the front and rear legs 12 and 13 of thechair. 'The side frames can be enclosed in a fabric or leather cover 14 as shown so as to form an arm compartmentlS the employment of which for housing certain parts of the operating linkage of the reclining chair forms an important part of the present invention. i

The numeral 16 represents the upholstered back part or back rest of the reclining chair and which can be of any form to have its lower part fit between the side frames 6. A pivot 18 illustrated as being in the form of a horizontal pivot rod extending through the back part 16 connects the lower part of the back rest 16 with each of the side frames 6. The back rest 16 extends downwardly so as to provide a lower extension 19 below the pivot 18.-

A base bearing 20 for each end of the base pivot rod 18 is shown in Fig. 4 as mounted in the corresponding side frame compartment 15 and supported by the generally upright frame bar 10.

The numeral 21 represents the upholstered seat part of the reclining chair'and which can be of any suitable form to fit between the side frames 6 of the chair base. Desirably theseat part 21 is spring-filled so that a person either sitting upright or reclining on the seat part is resiliently and comfortably supported. A pivot 22, illus-' trated as being in the form of a horizontal pivot rod extending through the rear of the seat part 21 connects the rear of the seat part with each of the side frames 6, this base pivot rod 22 being located parallel with and immediately in advance of and at approximately the same elevation as the base pivot rod 18. The bearings 23 for the opposite ends of the pivot rod 22 are shown as mounted in the corresponding side frame compartments 15 on the frame bars 10.

Also mounted in these side frame compartments 1 5 are a third pair of coaxial bearings 24 for a third pair each fast to the central part of a straight lever 26 near the upper end thereof, this lever thereby being a'doublearmed straight lever having an upper relatively short extension 26a from the pivot mounting 25 and a lower relatively long extension 26b from this pivot mounting. Each double-armed lever 26 is housed within the corresponding compartment -15 and the free end of its shorter extension 26a is connected through a pivot 29 with a long link 30 which'extends rearwardly and is connected by a pivot 31 to the corresponding side of the back part 16, this pivot 31 preferably being in the form of a rod extending through the back part 16 parallel with the pivot rods 18 and 22.

The end of the longer extension 26b of each double fabric cover 14 for thecorresponding side frame 6. The

other end of each link is pivoted, as indicated at 38, to the corresponding side of a leg'rest part 40, this part serving as a horizontally extending leg'rest in the reclining position of the chair parts and as a vertical front panel of the base part 5 in the non-reclining position thereof.

An arm 41 is fixed to each side of the leg rest part 40 and projects downwardly and rearwardly, in the elevated or operative position of the leg rest past as shown in Fig. I

3, generally. parallelwith the link 34. The outward exie iented Dec- 15, ,359

Fig; 2 and showing thechair tension of the arm 41 is V-shaped and at the bottom of the V each arm extends through a slit 42 in the cover 14 of the corresponding side frame 6. The free end of each of the arms 41'is provided with a pivot 43 which is journalled in a bearing 44 fast to the frame bar .8 near-the upper extremity thereof. Each bearing 44 is therefore arranged within the compartment 15 and these bearings 44 at opposite sides of the chair are, of course, coaxial.

An arm 45 is fast to each side ofthe seat part 21 and projects rearwardly therefrom as continuations of the underside of the seat part. The rear end of each arm 45 ispivoted, as indicated at 46, to the lowerend of a short link48. The upper end of the link 48 is pivoted as indicated at 49, to the corresponding side of the back part 16 of the chair. Each pivot 49 is in rear of the fixed 'or;base pivots 18 and 22 and eachswings'through an arc-inten sected by the plane extending through the axes of these fixed or base pivots18 and 22.

Assuming thatthe chair is in the erect ornon-reclining position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in order to bring the chair to .a reclining position all that is necessary is to move the back part 16 rearwardly. This can be done by one sitting in the chair and forcing the back part 16 rearwardly, it being desirable to have a relatively small amount of resistance to movement of the chair so that some deliberateforce is needed tochange the position of its parts.

So pushing back the rear part draws the long straight links 30 rearwardly, thereby to swing the double-ended levers 26 clockwise as viewed in Figs. 2 and '3 about the axis of their central pivots 25 which are severally mounted inthe base bearings 24. Such clockwise rotation of the double-armed levers 26 about their pivots 25 causes their longends 26b to swing forwardly and upwardly along the .arcuate slots 36 in the cover 14. This moves the rear ends of the links 34 forwardly and upwardly thereby to move the leg rest part 40 from the vertical position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which it forms the front panel of the chair base, to an elevated position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. vIn so moving to this elevated position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 it is also changed from the vertical position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to the horizontal position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This change in position is dueto the V-shaped arms 41 which are fast to each'side of the leg rest andwhich extend through the slits 42 to be pivoted at their free ends through the pivots 43 in the bearings 44 locatedin the extreme-upper forward parts of the-side frame compartments 15.

With such movement of the back part 16 and leg rest part 40 from their erect positions shownin Figs. 1 and 2 to their reclining positions shown inFigs. 3 and 4, the seat part 21 is also moved to a steeper angle or pitch, this being done by lifting its front end so as to be even with the elevated horizontal legrest part 40. This is done by the links 48 which, when the back part 16 is pushed backwardly, push downwardly on the arms 45 fixed to and projecting rearwardly from the seat part 21. Such downward movement of these fixed arms 45 swings the seat part 21 around the base pivots 22 so as to elevate the front end of the seat part 21 to approximately the same elevation of the leg rest part 40.

While the relining chair forming the subject of the present invention has been shown in-its two extreme positions, that is, fully erect or non-reclining in Figs. 1 and 2 and fully reclining in Figs. 3 and 4, it will be understood that the parts can be moved to any intermediate position to suit the comfort of the user and that this can be done while the user is seated or reclining in the chair. It will also lie-understood that the chair can be brought back to its fully erect .or non-reclining position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by forcing the leg rest part 40 downwardly and rearwardly while reclining on the chair and by the user lifting his body so .as to transfer a part of his weight from the back part 16 to the front part of the seat part 21, such shiftingof the users weight, combined with'the downward pressure on the leg rest part serving to cause a reverse movement of the back part, seat part and leg rest part and the linkage connecting the same.

In the reclining chair certain geometric relations are, of course, important although not necessarily essential to the operation of the chair. Thus it will be noted that each arm projects rearwardly from the seat part 21 so as to be close to alinement with the corresponding side of the back part 16 and that these arms straddle the downward extension 19 of the backpart and travel in close proximity to the opposing sides of the side frames 6. Also the links 48 pivotally connect at their lower ends with these arms 45 and at-their upper ends with the back part 6 and these last pivots pass through the plane intersecting the axes of the pivot pins 18 and 22.

Further as to these geometric relations the leg rest part 49 swings from a generally vertical position adjacent the front part of the seat part 21 (Fig.2) to a generally horizo-ntalposition in advance of theseat part 21 (Fig. 3) and the upwardly extending part 26aof the double-ended'lever 26 is substantially shorter than thedownwardly extending part 26b thereof, with the link 30 being substantially long-.

er than the link 34. Also the inner or rear end ofeach V-shaped arm 41 is generally horizontally disposed when the back part 16 and leg rest par-r40 are erect (Fig. 2) but this end is generally vertically disposed when the back part 16 and leg rest part 40 are in their reclining positions (Fig. 3). It will also be observed that an important feature is that each double-ended lever 261s housed within the corresponding side frame chamber 15 and that the inner or rear end of each'V-shaped arm '41, as well as a part of each of the links 30, are also housed Within a corresponding side frame chamber 15.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a simple and sturdy reclining chair of pleasing appearance and which accomplishes the various objectives set forth.

We claim:

A reclining chair, comprising a base including side frames forming arms for the chair, a back part pivoted at its lower end to said base to swing about a horizontal transverse axis, a seat part pivoted at its rear end to said base to swing about a horizontal transverse axis, a linkage interconnecting said back part and seat part to move in unison, comprising an arm fixed to each side of said seat part and projecting rearwardly therefrom so as to be in closely spaced relation with the corresponding side of said back part, .and links severally pivotally connected at their lower ends to the rear ends of said arms and at their upper endsto the sides of said back part, a leg rest part movable from a generally vertical position adjacent the front of said seat part to a generally horizontal position in advance of said seat part, and a linkage interconnecting saidback part and leg rest part to move in unison, comprising an arm fixed to each side of said leg rest part and pivotally connected at its outer end to the corresponding side frame of the chair, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to each of said side frames to swing about an axis parallel with said first axis and having one end projecting upwardly and its other end projecting downwardly from its .pivotal connection with its side frame, a first link pivotally connected at its front end to said upwardly projecting end of a corresponding lever and pivotally connected at its rear end to the corresponding side of said back part, and a second link pivotally connected at its rear end to said downwardly projecting end of a corresponding lever and pivotally connected at its front end to said leg rest part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 234,041 Keiran Nov. 2, 1880 2,564,762 Howard Aug. 21, 1951 2,663,358 Lorenz Dec. 22, 1953 2,672,919 Luckhardt Mar. 23, 1954 

